Is Windjammer Really THAT bad?!?!

so, I have to admit, have only been on two cruises. Two years ago on Indy and two years prior on Enchantment. Will be sailing on Allure on April 2nd. With a buffet they are dealing with thousands of people who want to get in and get out quick. On prior cruises we have felt that the food was on par, or slightly above, most buffet restaurants on the mainland. Has it reall gotten worse than this?

We were on the Allure last week and I didn't think it was bad at all. Everything I had was fresh and good. I did not go at popular times so I never had a problem getting a seat. I did hear people talking on the elevators on port mornings how crowded it was. I think that seems to be the biggest frustration with the Windjammer. We went to Central Park Cafe on port mornings to avoid the crowds.

Remember too that on Allure there are several other options to the Windjammer to eat, many more than you had on Enchantment and even Indy.

It's crowded during peak times and makes finding a table difficult. Food is okay...for a buffet (I'm not a huge buffet fan), but I wouldn't say in my opinion it's any worse or better than it has been in the years I've been cruising.

We were on the Allure last week and I didn't think it was bad at all. Everything I had was fresh and good. I did not go at popular times so I never had a problem getting a seat. I did hear people talking on the elevators on port mornings how crowded it was. I think that seems to be the biggest frustration with the Windjammer. We went to Central Park Cafe on port mornings to avoid the crowds.

I also loved the WJ on Allure. And because of the negative comments I almost didn't go!

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Where did you hear that the Windjammer was bad? That has not been our experience at all. We like the Windjammer on every ship we have been on. I think you might have been listening to the wrong folks.

Doug

I didn't have any problems or dislikes in the Windjammer. I know there were lines getting in at peak times, but we never were in line for more than 5 minutes. I like omelets for breakfast and they weren't available, but freshly fried eggs were, so I had them a couple of days.

One day at lunch there was Pad Thai and it was good. It seems as though everything I had was fine except for one thing, and I can't even remember what it was, but I know it was too spicy/hot for me.

Buffets are not my normal choice for meals as I do eat more than I normally would have at a meal. I like being waited on as opposed to serving myself as that's what I do every day at home.

After 40+ cruises, we still like the WJ, although I don't think they have as many choices as they used to. We only go for breakfast and sometimes, a quick snack in the afternoon but we love the fresh cooked omelets, the fruit and Danish choices. WJ also has some really good Indian dishes that I love.

Peak times can be crowded and difficult to find a table but we just try to avoid those times.

Sherri:)

so, I have to admit, have only been on two cruises. Two years ago on Indy and two years prior on Enchantment. Will be sailing on Allure on April 2nd. With a buffet they are dealing with thousands of people who want to get in and get out quick. On prior cruises we have felt that the food was on par, or slightly above, most buffet restaurants on the mainland. Has it reall gotten worse than this?

With the possible exception of scrambled eggs, I don't feel the WJ food has gotten worse. However, since you mention Indy, I will add in that I think and have said in reviews I believe the passenger to seat ratio for the windjammer is the best in the Freedom class and the worst on the Oasis class. At peak times I won't go near the WJ on Oasis.

Now, after having lousy scrambled eggs (fake) on Freedom and Oasis in 2015 and 2016, I had real ones that were good on Majesty last fall. I did go to dinner at the WJ on Oasis and did find a couple of things I thought were really good. Jim Beam BBQ ribs for example.

On prior cruises we have felt that the food was on par, or slightly above, most buffet restaurants on the mainland. Has it reall gotten worse than this?

Not a fan of WJ at all. I wouldn't say the food has gotten worse. I just don't like the buffet style in general. I agree that the WJ was particularly bad on Oasis at peak times - avoid at all cost.

All Windjammers are not created equally. Very different experiences on the seven RCCL ships I have been on. On the ship that I have sailed four times, there are noticeable differences from cruise to cruise.

We were on the Allure last week and I didn't think it was bad at all. Everything I had was fresh and good. I did not go at popular times so I never had a problem getting a seat. I did hear people talking on the elevators on port mornings how crowded it was. I think that seems to be the biggest frustration with the Windjammer. We went to Central Park Cafe on port mornings to avoid the crowds.

We too were on the Allure last week and agree whole heartedly with these comments. Great variety and, quite frankly, the quality was as good as in the MDR.

My only complaint is that the food is the same every 3rd day basically. Some more variety would be nice. That said we thought the food was very good on Liberty 2 months ago. The French fries were amazing. And diner at the WJ was far better than I had expected.

6 RCCL cruises, 5 ships, WJ was good to go in my books. Although there was one time at lunch on the Indy, there was no knives, forks, etc. We had to wait 15 mins. So our food grew cold and we had to start all over again.

so, I have to admit, have only been on two cruises. Two years ago on Indy and two years prior on Enchantment. Will be sailing on Allure on April 2nd. With a buffet they are dealing with thousands of people who want to get in and get out quick. On prior cruises we have felt that the food was on par, or slightly above, most buffet restaurants on the mainland. Has it reall gotten worse than this?

Not all WJ are the same, the Oasis class WJ is undersized for the size of the ship. It is laid out very differently than other WJ. Oasis class WJ also does not do cooked to order omelets in the morning, you can get those in the Wipeout Cafe or Johnny Rockets. Johnny Rockets is complimentary for breakfast but is for a fee at other times.

I have not sailed Allure yet, we sail in May, so I am happy to hear some positive posts about the WJ on Allure. We usually like going to the WJ on other ships, but after trying it multiple times on Oasis, we gave up and went to other venues.

We really enjoyed Wipeout Cafe for breakfast. They have a small buffet and you can order cooked to order fried eggs and omelets that are delivered to you outside at your table. We enjoyed sitting, watching the activity on the sports court while we ate.

We will try WJ on Allure, but are glad there are other alternatives too.

All Windjammers are not created equally. Very different experiences on the seven RCCL ships I have been on. On the ship that I have sailed four times, there are noticeable differences from cruise to cruise.

I agree with this sentiment. Jewel, the only Radiance class I have been on, the WJ has been very nice.

My only complaint is that the food is the same every 3rd day basically. Some more variety would be nice. That said we thought the food was very good on Liberty 2 months ago. The French fries were amazing. And diner at the WJ was far better than I had expected.

More variety? Really? I just don't ever get this comment / complaint. What other breakfast food could you possibly expect them to serve? Quite frankly, on a 7 night night cruise I can't think of any breakfast items that weren't available at least one, if not every day. So, seriously ... list one breakfast item not on the buffet that you'd like to see.

For lunch there are some standard, every day items; but they also always have something new and different. The items offered on the buffet are never exactly the same from day to day. Just because you don't see something new or different that looks good to you doesn't mean there isn't still a variety. You can always get your variety each day by trying different venues -- Windjammer, Cafe Promenade, MDR, etc. IMHO

More variety? Really? I just don't ever get this comment / complaint. What other breakfast food could you possibly expect them to serve? Quite frankly, on a 7 night night cruise I can't think of any breakfast items that weren't available at least one, if not every day. So, seriously ... list one breakfast item not on the buffet that you'd like to see.

 

For lunch there are some standard, every day items; but they also always have something new and different. The items offered on the buffet are never exactly the same from day to day. Just because you don't see something new or different that looks good to you doesn't mean there isn't still a variety. You can always get your variety each day by trying different venues -- Windjammer, Cafe Promenade, MDR, etc. IMHO

Serenade's WindJammers dinner is good, more choices then ever. I'm taken Royal Cruises for 30 years...

I really dislike WJ, most other lines do a much better buffet ( normally never eat buffet) tried WJ a couple of times on last cruise and it was just bad.

I really dislike WJ, most other lines do a much better buffet ( normally never eat buffet) tried WJ a couple of times on last cruise and it was just bad.

How do you know other lines do a much better buffet if you normally never eat buffet? You contradict yourself.:confused:

If I had my way, I would never eat in the MDR again. It just takes too darned long. I heard, from Weight Watchers, that there is a 20-minute 'clock' that starts when you take the first bite. Then, after 20 minutes, the body tries to tell you that it's full. For me, it's that first burp.

I like to see, in advance, what I eat and dislike wasting MDR food I did not expect on my plate.

It all depends on the ship. The Grandeur has been horrible but the Serenade last month was phenomenal-we even had filet mignon, grilled lobster and shrimp, and whole grilled red snapper.

Was on Anthem last time this year. It was insane of course during embarkation. During peak times I tried to avoid it. I had a little one that always woke early so we were lined up at 7am. It was a ghost town at that time. One thing about going at that time is that they have the waffles and pancakes out for a while in the warming trays and they were very dried out and not that warm. After the first tray was gone they were much much better.

Generally they had a wide variety of things to eat. I never understand people that think the offering are limited. The Indian food was TERRIFIC.

ETA: the fresh made egg/omelet line was always long but good.

The Indian food was TERRIFIC.

My most recent experience wasn't like this. The sauce with one of the curries was pretty good but having pieces of meat with visible veins pointed to abject laziness in terms of preparation of that meat. This you would never get away with at a land-based buffet.

We now buy a seat at a speciality restaurant for every day of the cruise.

My most recent experience wasn't like this. The sauce with one of the curries was pretty good but having pieces of meat with visible veins pointed to abject laziness in terms of preparation of that meat. This you would never get away with at a land-based buffet.

There was a WJ chicken neck/back scare awhile back. Forget which ship that was.